The Art Fund have helped the National Trust buy a spectacular historical portrait of a lady for their property Dunham Massey in Cheshire.

A Portrait of a Lady attributed to Robert Peake (1541-1619), is believed to be of Vere Egerton who married into the Booth family of Dunham Massey in 1619. Vere was the granddaughter and potential heiress of the immensely wealthy Lord Chancellor Egerton and this portrait was a marker of the Booth family’s social and political rise.

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund, said, “It is wonderful to know that the portrait of a lady is on its way home to Dunham Massey – we hope that people will enjoy seeing it on show.”

The portrait was purchased at the Sotheby’s Old Master and British Paintings auction for a total of £157,250, of which £61,328 was given by the Art Fund. Additional funding came from Dunham Massey and gifts and bequests to the National Trust. You won't be able to see the painting back in its rightful home quite yet as the work will undergo cleaning before being returned to the property for display.